Zacks Investment Management Lowers Stock Position in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Zacks Investment Management decreased its stake in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) by 12.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 275,490 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 38,858 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management owned about 0.06% of Crown Castle worth $25,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versor Investments LP increased its holdings in Crown Castle by 120.0% during the 4th quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 8,447 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $767,000 after purchasing an additional 4,608 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,243,722 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $113,465,000 after acquiring an additional 282,821 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in Crown Castle in the fourth quarter worth $1,231,000. Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in Crown Castle during the 4th quarter valued at $3,083,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Crown Castle by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 144,766 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $13,139,000 after purchasing an additional 4,772 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on CCI shares. Argus upgraded shares of Crown Castle to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Citizens Jmp raised Crown Castle to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Barclays raised their price objective on Crown Castle from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $102.00 to $99.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $121.00 to $115.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Crown Castle currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.88.

Crown Castle Stock Performance

CCI stock traded up $2.26 during trading on Friday, reaching $103.51. The stock had a trading volume of 1,860,139 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,888,471. The firm has a market cap of $45.07 billion, a PE ratio of 36.71 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43. The stock's 50 day moving average is $97.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $98.68. Crown Castle Inc. has a 52 week low of $84.20 and a 52 week high of $120.92.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $1.565 dividend. This represents a $6.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Crown Castle's payout ratio is -69.71%.

Crown Castle Company Profile

Crown Castle owns, operates and leases more than 40,000 cell towers and approximately 90,000 route miles of fiber supporting small cells and fiber solutions across every major U.S. market. This nationwide portfolio of communications infrastructure connects cities and communities to essential data, technology and wireless service - bringing information, ideas and innovations to the people and businesses that need them.